ABQjournal: Mesa Verde Slowly Revealing Secrets of Anasazi Culture By James Abarr, For the Journal
MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK, Colo — Rising sharply between the Mancos and Montezuma valleys of southwest Colorado, the broad escarpment of Mesa Verde beckons with a promise of adventure and mystery.
With cliffs soaring 2,000 feet above ridges and grassy plains, the mesa — 25 miles long — offers a feast for the senses as well as the eyes. Along its piñon-juniper ridges and in its plunging canyons are hundreds of surface pueblos, cliff dwellings, stone towers and pithouses attesting to a time when a prehistoric Indian people called the great mesa home.
They were the Anasazi, who abandoned Mesa Verde more than 700 years ago, but to present-day Indian people of the Four Corners region and the Middle Rio Grande Valley, the Anasazi have never left. They believe the spirits of their ancestors still inhabit the mesa. …
[T]he cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde, although occupied for a relatively brief span, rank as amazing examples of Anasazi building skills. There was no formal plan or design for these stunning structures [mjh: an odd presumption]. They were simply constructed to match the topography of the great alcoves. Thus the dwellings are similar, and yet, each is different.
Sandstone, widely available in the area, was the basic building material. This soft, porous material was carefully shaped into rectangular blocks and laid in rows cemented by mud mortar. Walls were then coated with plaster and often decorated with painted designs.
Square house blocks, some three stories high, were accompanied by square or round tower dwellings and many kivas, or recessed ceremonial chambers.
This is another of James Abarr’s excellent stories; there is much more here than I can quote (unfortunately, a subscription is required to read the article at abqjournal.com). For once, abqjournal has even let the photos appear online. mjh